Letters from Becca: A Contemporary Romance Fiction Novel Read Online Free

John,” Moira added.
    John slowly opened his door and stepped inside, feeling safer with just the screen between them.  “I hate to go, ladies, but I have to finish something I was working on,” he said, struggling for something better to say, but falling short.
    “Goodbye, John,” Gerta giggled.
    “See you tomorrow, then,” Moira said with a confident smile.
    John tried not to cringe, but maintained his smile until they turned and walked away.  He closed the door and shook his head.  Slowly, he smiled.  He had to give them an “A” for effort.  He walked to his desk in the hallway and set down the mail to look for his reading glasses.  He turned with a start when Patches, his ten-year-old golden tabby cat jumped onto the desk beside him, sending his mail flying in every direction.
    John reached down and began gathering the pieces of mail and putting them back onto the desk, then smiled and petted his only friend as she purred and rubbed against him, vying for his attention.  He picked up his cat, reading glasses, and mail, and headed for the kitchen where the light was much better.  He could care less about reading any of it.  It was mostly bills or the annoying junk mail he never opened.
    The only piece he would have cared about was still on the floor, under his desk, amidst the dust and cobwebs to be forgotten.  For now.

Chapter 2:  November 11, 2000
    Patches lay crouched before the door, staring oddly at the face pressed against the screen.  It had been a tiring morning of chasing a mouse around the kitchen, and she had no desire to move if not required.
    “Grampa!” the face called out.
    Patches rose to a sitting position; her tail swished back and forth as she contemplated whether the face required further investigation.
    “Dad?” another face peered through the screen door from above.  The woman knocked, then opened the door, allowing the small girl to rush through first.
    Patches immediately rose, recognizing the child.  Standing still was not an option, so she tried to become invisible by scurrying under the desk.
    “Grampa!” the child yelled, running past the cat and into his arms as he entered the room.
    “Jesse, Amanda, what a nice surprise!” he said, bending to pick her up.
    “Grampa!  Guess where we went yesterday!”  Amanda asked excitedly.
    “Where did you go, Punkin’?”
    “We went to the zoo.  And we saw giraffes and zebras and elephants and dinosaurs!”
    “Dinosaurs?  At the zoo?” John asked, his face showing amazement.  Purposefully he turned to his daughter.  “Your mother meet you there, Jesse?” he asked coyly.
    “Now dad,” she said, cutting her eyes at him, trying to conceal a smile.  She walked to the kitchen and opened his refrigerator, setting inside a dozen eggs and a carton of milk.
    “No, silly.  Real dinosaurs,” Amanda insisted.
    “Okay, okay.  That wasn’t very nice of me,” he said to his daughter over his shoulder before turning back to Amanda, who had her arms wrapped around his neck.  “I’m sorry, Punkin.  Go on,” he encouraged her.
    “We saw a tri-ser-a-tops,” she pronounced slowly.  “And a tarantula rex!”
    “That’s Tyrannosaurus Rex, dear,” Jessica corrected from afar.
    “So Gramma was there?” John asked his granddaughter in a lower voice.
    Amanda rolled her eyes and giggled.  “Grampa!  You’re so silly!”
    Jessica walked up behind him.  “Dad,” she said in a scolding tone.
    “What?” he asked innocently, as he turned and made an exaggerated fearful face at Amanda, who laughed.
    “Dad, you really should let me pick up a few more things for you next time I’m at the store.  I told you, I don’t mind.”
    “I don’t need anything else,” he said, setting the wriggling Amanda down.  “But thank you, honey.” He patted the child’s bottom as she scooted off after the cat she had spied hiding under the desk.
    “There’s nothing to eat in here,” she added, turning back to the